Egypt: 6 dead as clashes break out nationwide

Members of Al-Azhar, Egypt's top Muslim religious institution, react to tear gas in front of the Republican Guard headquarters in Nasser City, Cairo, Egypt, Friday, July 5, 2013. Army troops opened fire Friday on protesters demanding the reinstatement of toppled President Mohammed Morsi, killing at least one, as supporters of the Islamist leader rallied across Egypt chanting "Down with military rule!"(AP Photo/Virginie Nguyen Hoang)

(Updated at 3:18 p.m.) CAIRO — A Health Ministry official says six people have been killed in clashes around the country involving opponents and backers of ousted President Mohammed Morsi, as well as security forces.

In Cairo, a crowd of Islamists surged across a bridge over the Nile River after nightfall and clashed with Morsi opponents near Tahrir Square and outside the state TV building. One witness reports gunfire and stone throwing.

Clashes, some involving police, erupted in cities of southern Egypt, along the Suez Canal and in the Nile Delta as Morsi supporters marched on local government buildings.

Khaled el-Khatib, a Health Ministry official, says four people have been killed in Cairo and two elsewhere, with 180 wounded.

CAIRO — The top leader of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood has vowed to restore ousted President Mohammed Morsi to office, saying Egyptians will not accept “military rule” for another day.

General Guide Mohammed Badie, a revered figure among the Brotherhood’s followers, spoke Friday before a crowd of tens of thousands of Morsi supporters in Cairo. A military helicopter circled low overhead.

Badie addressed the military, saying “your leader is Morsi” and demanding they abide by their pledge of loyalty to the president, calling it “the honor of the military”

He called on Egyptians to protest, saying “we will not be deterred by threats or detentions ... or the gallows.”

“God make Morsi victorious and bring him back to the palace,” he said. “We are his soldiers we defend him with our lives.”